Kidnapped Australian describes lack of trust and hope

Video has been posted on the internet of an Australian man kidnapped and held hostage in the Philippines since last December. In it Warren Rodwell says he’s given up hope of being released and doesn’t trust the Australian government to do anything.

Transcript

BEN KNIGHT, PRESENTER: He has been held hostage in the Philippine jungle for more than a year after being kidnapped by terrorists.

Now Australian man Warren Rodwell says he's given up any hope of ever being set free. The video's appeared on the internet overnight. It is the first time since May there's been any proof that he's actually still alive.

In it Mr Rodwell has hit out at the Australian Government. He said he doesn't trust it to arrange his release. Well, the Government has released a brief statement today but one former diplomat says the Foreign Minister, Bob Carr, needs to get on a plan to Manila and do more to secure his freedom.

Conor Duffy reports.

WARREN RODWELL, HOSTAGE: My name is Warren Richard Rodwell from Australia. Today is Sunday, December 16th, 2012. This newspaper...

CONOR DUFFY, REPORTER: It's been more than a year since former soldier Warren Rodwell was kidnapped from his home on the troubled island of Mindanao. Muslim separatists there have waged a long and blood by battle.

SEPARTISTS: Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar.

CONOR DUFFY: Four men from the feared Muslim terrorist group Abu Sayyaf posed as policemen and forced their way into his home.

PROF. DAMIEN KINGSBURY, INTERNATIONAL STUDIES, DEAKIN UNIVERSITY: The Abu Sayyaf group is a small splinter group from the separatist Muslim group in Southern Philippines. They have been around for about 25 or 30 years. They're small group, only 350 active members but they're quite brutal. And their mode of activity is essentially kidnapping. That's how they survive.

WARREN RODWELL (January): The Australian embassy here in the Philippines...

CONOR DUFFY: In January this year Rodwell appeared in a video to plead for a $2 million ransom.

WARREN RODWELL (January): To my family, please do whatever to raise the $US2 million they are asking for my release as soon as possible.

CONOR DUFFY: Abu Sayyaf is infamous for kidnapping foreigners and Christians and demanding huge ransoms for their release. Professor Damien Kingsbury from Deakin University is a leading expert on South East Asia.

PROF. DAMIEN KINGSBURY: Over the years they've taken numerous hostages, certainly dozens. They've held them all for ransom, in some cases ransoms have been paid, in others ransoms have not been paid and those hostages have been executed. So we know that they're a brutal outfit.

ALASTAIR GAISFORD, FORMER DIPLOMAT: There was a Swiss and Japanese both of whom have been released in the last month. Clearly, when their government has paid a ransom.

CONOR DUFFY: For Warren Rodwell it has clearly been a horrendous 12 months as his captors hold out for cash.

WARREN RODWELL: I have no idea what's going on outside. I'm just kept held prisoners in isolation. Again, I am alive, it is 378 days I think, something like that.

CONOR DUFFY: Warren Rodwell is a former soldier who had armed himself and believed he could fend off any attack. Prior to arriving in the dangerous area he'd spent a decade travelling the world. His Facebook photos show a man who clearly enjoyed exploring Asia and he describes himself as an international adventurer. While little is known about Warren Rodwell, he spent time as a ward of the state at Sydney's Burnside Homes and returned two years ago. Reverend Martin Levine knew him and says he has a taste for danger.

REV. MARTIN LEVINE: He had a very, has a very strong personality, a very in a sense I suppose "I can do it, I know the answers. I'll tell you what I think." Yeah, but I think it's part of his persona, the way in which he shared himself.

CONOR DUFFY: Today he's given up on returning to those good times.

WARREN RODWELL: I do not expect to be released before the year 2013 at the earliest. I personally hold no hope at all for being released.

CONOR DUFFY: Australian officials, though, are somewhat heartened to see proof Mr Rodwell is still alive. The Government declined interview requests but the Foreign Minister issued a brief statement.

BOB CARR STATEMENT (voiceover): While today's confirmation of Mr Rodwell's welfare is welcomed, his prolonged captivity is a major concern. The Philippines government has the lead in response to this case and is devoting significant resources to securing Mr Rodwell's release. It would not be helpful to Mr Rodwell to comment further.

CONOR DUFFY: Alastair Gaisford knows firsthand the high stakes and potentially tragic outcomes involved. He worked in the Australian Embassy in Cambodia in 1994 when Khmer Rouge fighters kidnapped backpacker David Wilson and believes the Government could have prevented his murder.

ALASTAIR GAISFORD: Absolutely. 150 per cent sure of that. We would have had the three foreign hostages out alive as well as the Khmer and Vietnamese hostages who were also up on the mountain. In that case, over 200 people were taken hostage.

CONOR DUFFY: However, a coronial inquest in September cleared the Government's handling of the situation. In his most recent video Warren Rodwell hit out at the current Government's handling of his case.

WARREN RODWELL: I do not trust Abu Sayyaf. I do not trust the Australian Government.

ALASTAIR GAISFORD: Bob Carr should get on a plane at Kingsford Smith get up to Manila and run it like he did with the Melinda Taylor case. Hands on, run it from the home base. Bill Tweddell should be sent down to Mindanao and be running on it on the ground in Mindanao, our ambassador in Manila.

CONOR DUFFY: Alastair Gaisford believes some hostages are treated better than others and Foreign Minister Bob Carr was much more active in seeking the release of Melinda Taylor in Libya.

ALASTAIR GAISFORD: If you're a somebody, particularly if you're a in pretty young female professional Australian overseas, the Foreign Minister will personally intervene. The Foreign Minister will make the phone calls. The Foreign Minister will even visit the country as he did with Melinda Taylor in Libya. Warren Rodwell is a nobody. If he were a somebody he would have been helped.

CONOR DUFFY: Mr Rodwell's family isn't speaking to the media but Government says it speaks to them regularly. Professor Damien Kingsbury says time may be running out to secure his release and further delays may be fatal.

PROF. DAMIEN KINGSBURY: If the money is paid I expect that Mr Rodwell will be released. Abu Sayyaf group has a long history of kidnapping people for ransom and releasing them if ransoms are paid. So I would expect he would be released. Having said that, if the ransom is not paid I think Mr Rodwell's future is very dim indeed. There might be some attempt at a hostage rescue situation, but that usually ends up pretty badly.

CONOR DUFFY: And if one thing was clear from this unscripted video message, it is that Warren Rodwell's spirit is close to breaking point.